Bega Group Explained

Bega Group
Type:Public company
Key People:Pete Findlay (CEO)
Industry:Dairy, Food processing
Subsid:
    Location City:Bega, New South Wales
    Location Country:Australia

    The Bega Group is an Australian diversified food and drinks company with manufacturing sites in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Founded as an agricultural cooperative in the town of Bega, New South Wales by their dairy suppliers, it became a public company in 2011 when it listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Close to half of shares publicly traded are still held by Bega's farmer-suppliers. It is currently one of the largest companies in the dairy sector in Australia, with a base milk supply in 2018 of approximately 750 million litres per annum.[1]

    Over half of the Bega Group's revenue (as of 2019) comes from their spreads, dairy consumer packaged goods and other grocery products, with their flagship Bega brand holding 15.7% of the Australian retail cheese market.[2] The Bega Group's other major consumer and foodservice packaged goods brands are Vegemite, Farmers Table, Zoosh, Picky Picky, Tatura and Dairymont. The Bega branded Australia retail and foodservice cheese products are distributed by Fonterra under a long-term agreement. Just under a third of the Bega Group's revenue (as of 2019) was from exports. The cheese products are exported to 40 countries and distributed across Australia where they are available in most supermarkets and general stores.[3] [4] [5]

    Their other major business segments include bulk core dairy ingredients such as cheese, cream cheese and powdered milk (making up approximately 35% of revenue) and nutritional products produced under the Bega Bionutrients brand (such as lactoferrin and milk protein concentrate),[6] which make up around 9% of revenue.

    History

    In 2019, the company won a legal dispute with Kraft Heinz over the packaging of its peanut butter.[10] In 2020, Kraft Heinz appealed the case to the Federal Court of Australia, but was dismissed.[11] In 2021, the two companies had reached a confidential settlement.[12]

    In 2020, the company raised significant funds to purchase Kirin's suite of dairy products, including Dairy Farmers and Pura Milk. In 2022, the Bega Group was formed, bringing together several brands including Bega Cheese, Vegemite, Dare Iced Coffee, Dairy Farmers, Farmers Union and Zooper Dooper.[13]

    In August 2023, Bega entered an agreement to acquire the businesses and certain assets of Betta Milk and Meander Valley Dairy from TasFoods Limited for $11 million. The deal also included a licence to use the Pyengana Dairy brand.[14]

    See also

    Bega Dairy & Drinks

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Annual report . www.begacheese.com.au . 2019 . 9 April 2020.
    2. Web site: Bega Cheese Limited Annual Report 2016. 2016. Bega Cheese Limited. 22 January 2017.
    3. Web site: Bega Cheese goes from sleepy dairy co-op to $1b business. The Sydney Morning Herald.
    4. Web site: Fonterra – Bega cheese. 11 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160210101439/https://www.fonterra.com/au/en/our+products/our+brands/bega+cheese. 10 February 2016. dead.
    5. Web site: Bega Cheese Heritage Centre. https://web.archive.org/web/20160425083218/http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/merimbula-and-sapphire-coast/bega/attractions/bega-cheese-heritage-centre. VisitNSW.com. 25 April 2016. 5 September 2019. dead.
    6. News: Our story – Bega Bionutrients Lactoferrin Supplier. Bega Bionutrients Lactoferrin Supplier. en-US. 22 January 2017.
    7. Web site: Data . www.accc.gov.au . 9 April 2020.
    8. Web site: Bega launches the 'Purple Hive Project' to protect Australian bees via Thinkerbell. 28 July 2020.
    9. Web site: Bega Cheese buys Lion Dairy from Japan's Kirin. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 November 2020.
    10. Web site: Bega beats US food giant Kraft in peanut butter packaging battle. Younger. Emma. Reardon. Adriane. 1 May 2019. ABC News. en-AU. 30 October 2019.
    11. Web site: Bega Cheese wins legal stoush against US food giant Heinz over peanut butter labelling. Jasper. Clint. 14 April 2020. ABC News. en-AU. 13 June 2021.
    12. Web site: Dispute over peanut butter branding to cost US giant $9 million. Somerville. Peter. 3 June 2021. ABC News. en-AU. 13 June 2021.
    13. Web site: 24 November 2022 . Bega Group rolls out major new-look corporate rebrand . 30 January 2023 . Convenience & Impulse Retailing . en-US.
    14. Web site: Noack . Georgina . 30 August 2023 . Australian cheese giant Bega Group buys homegrown Tasmanian dairy brands in historic $11m deal . 2 September 2023 . News.com.au.